With both automatic and manual transmission engines, a variety of sensors are employed to provide real time data regarding the current positions of the actuators, the associated shift linkages, as well as the clutches, brakes, and gears acted upon. Such data is utilized by a transmission control module (TCM) to confirm, for example, the commencement and completion of a shift and thus the overall state of the transmission. Such data is also useful for self-diagnosis of impending or actual component failure.
In an automatic gear (ratio) shifting system, sensors provide the necessary data to the TCM regarding speed, direction, position, etc., of one or more gears in the system. Current approaches provide these sensors individually as part of a stand-alone, independent assembly system. This can be problematic, for example, when multiple sensors and sensor assembly systems are incorporated into a confined area of the system. In the case of a dual clutch manual transmission in which multiple sensors are employed in close proximity, physical space constraints may prevent one or more of the sensors from being optimally positioned about the transmission, thus limiting overall effectiveness.